The Confederate strategy through the Civil War circled around defending their right to secede from the Union. At the beginning of the war, they were no interested in invading the Union, as the North had much more resources and potential soldiers. They tried a cordon defense system first, which entailed guarding the entire border of their territory. This proved impossible however, as their resources were scarce, and it woud have stretched them too far, leaving weak spots in their defense.
They eventually went with an offensive-defensive strategy, where soldiers were moved around the military as needed. The defensive part of the plan defended the Confederate territory from invasion, while the offensive part allowed the army to strategically attack the Union, particularly at weak points in their defenses.
Firstly, they tried a cordon defense, where they would try to have protection around their entire border. This was proven to fail due to lack of resources. Then, they tried an offensive-defensive strategy. This is where they would aggressively throw troops into some areas where it was thought to be necessary, but also worked to protect specific confederate territory.
